April is the month when spring migration gets under way, with arrivals and departures of birds, all seeking their best breeding territories. This April was an interesting, almost ‘four season’ month with a wide range of temperatures and other weather conditions. While there were short, dry, settled spells, it was wetter than April 2015 and the end of the month saw northerly winds and snow on the hills. The impact on migrating birds heading north seemed to be to hold them up. For example, there were widespread reports of wheatear including 36 in Sliddery on 23 April. Many of these were the larger Greenland wheatear waiting for more southerly winds to help them head for Greenland and northern Canada.
While a number of the regular migrants did arrive in April, it seemed to be only the pioneers. Even by the end of the month the bulk of the migrants had still to arrive. Here are April ‘firsts’ with the 2015 arrival date in brackets for comparison: Manx shearwater off Largymore on 2nd (April 12), swallow in Sliddery on 2nd (April 7), white wagtail in Auchenhew Bay on 10th (April 6), willow warbler in Auchenhew Bay on 10th (April 4), house martin in Bennecarrigan Farm on 11th (April 9), whitethroat in Sliddery on 13th (April 21), common sandpiper in North Sannox on 14th (April 14), cuckoo in High Kildonan on 18th (April 12) and tree pipit on Maol Donn on 20th (April 20).
A haw finch which has a huge bill.